Coping with M.E., C.F.S. or Fibromyaliga

My Story – how I became a healer with M.E….

Lately I have been approached by so many people asking advice about how to treat M.E. that I thought it was time for me to relate my own story and how I have learnt to move through this debilitating illness with awareness.

I was born with a deformed spine, I had accident after accident over my early years, all of which affected my spine. I fell out of the back of my dad’s moving van at age 7, fractured my spine in a fall at age 12, experienced whiplash at age 15, etc., etc.

None of this stopped me from being creative. I believe that my creativity saved me. I learnt to knit, sew, crochet, draw, paint, all from a really young age. I remember sitting on the bottom step of the stairs at home at the age of 3 or 4 knitting. I had my own little set of needles and lots of pieces of coloured wool left over from my mum’s knitting. I knitted little stripey scarves for my dolls.

Basically, I have always had to be aware of my back and how I am affected by the pain. I always tried to be independent and do everything for myself, and then I read the Louise Hay books about the messages that our bodies are trying to tell us. The spine is about support, I still thought I had to do everything for myself, including supporting myself. How wrong I got that! Yes spine problems are about your support system, the spine is after all what supports us physically, but what I have now learnt is that I needed to ask for support and help from others.

Our physical bodies are what we chose as the vehicles to hold our spirits when we incarnated into this lifetime. How remarkable are they?!

In my 30s I was confined to bed for 2 weeks with rheumatic fever. I couldn’t do anything for myself… it was a hard lesson to learn at that point, relying on my husband and children to take care of me, even to carry me to the bathroom, especially at a time when I had found out that my husband was seeing someone else. It was really difficult. I had to trust this man to care for me when he no longer wanted to be a part of our family. At the end of the illness I couldn’t walk without support for over 2 years, I fell over constantly for no reason whatsoever (this has recently begun happening again), breaking bones in my toes and fingers, fracturing my ankle, so many painful accidents. I had a walking stick in one hand and held on to my husband or one of my daughters with the other. After this I was diagnosed with systemic arthritis, it was in every single joint in my body.

I went through a treatment program where I was given more and more drugs: painkillers, anti-inflammatories, tablets to help me sleep, anti-depressants, tablets to stop me getting ulcers from taking all these tablets, steroid injections, etc. I had been taking painkillers from age 12 when I had the fall which fractured my spine. By my 30s I had ulcerative colitis, IBS, all sorts of digestive and intestinal problems. I also had constant kidney infections and kidney stones.

I eventually had enough of taking prescriptions drugs, my body was in so much pain, with or without them, it was swollen from the steroid injections and I could hardly move without support from others. It was time to change…

I used to have osteopathy as a teenager, after the fall, and it did seem to help. It kept me mobile. Without it I would have been completely immobile. In fact, my parents took me to see a Harley Street specialist after the accident, who said that I would probably be in a wheelchair by the time I was 15. I have never been in a wheelchair, except when I have been wheeled into hospital from an ambulance to give birth to my children.

I began to see an osteopath, or chiropractor again, and these people kept me mobile once more. I learnt to stand on my own two feet again, and walk under my own steam. My spine started to grow stronger. I also had regular massages, which was also a lifesaver. The tension in my muscles caused by my spinal deformity and the accidents needed releasing, and I found either massage or shiatsu was wonderful. I also learnt how to relax. Something I had never been very good at! I actually had to be hypnotised the first time to teach me how to relax. I spontaneously went into a past life and began to question my role here on earth. There was so much that I didn’t know or understand…

I became fascinated with ‘alternative’ therapies. I had already qualified as an Aromatherapist in 1988, but I hadn’t been able to practice it for a number of years due to my own pain and inability to stand up long enough to give a treatment. I discovered cranio sacral therapy, my body loved this. I had suffered from migraines since I was a teenager, or they seemed to be migraines. The headaches were actually caused by damage done in the fall when I was 12. It had never healed. Cranio-sacral work really helped release the pain and I went for longer and longer times between migraines. My spine also became stronger, and I needed less often treatments, whereas with chiropractic treatment I had to go for treatments every week as nothing seemed to have a lasting effect, and my immobility returned if I didn’t receive the treatment.

In 1998/99 I discovered spiritual healing. I went along to a spiritualist church every Friday night and had some healing. It was so relaxing. I left feeling like I was walking on air. But again, I had to keep going, nothing lasted. I moved out of the city I was in and lived in a village with my youngest daughter for 2 years where I saw an ad in the local shop for a healing course. I had been attuned to Reiki 1 in 1994, but it was still a time when the information was passed on by word and there were no manuals, so I forgot almost everything about it. This healing course was different. They met every week to practice and the facilitator also ran a development and healing group monthly. I began to learn more about spirituality. I remember I was in so much pain the one week of my training course that I spent the whole day flat on the floor because I was in too much pain to sit. I knew I needed to be there though. I didn’t even consider not attending just because I was immobile again.

I moved back into the city to be nearer to my children, who had homes of their own by now, and in 2003 I trained as a practitioner with the Findhorn Flower Essences at Findhorn in Scotland. When I returned from the course a friend asked me if she could join me in setting up the centre I had been talking about for the last few years. It would be a complementary health centre which had room to facilitate workshops and talks on spiritually based subjects. It was a dream come true for me. We opened the doors on February 1^st 2004, by August it was closed. Not because it hadn’t worked, it was very busy, but because my friend decided it wasn’t her dream after all, but mine. I couldn’t continue to run the place alone (which I did for almost 2 months), so I had to give it up. I grieved deeply over this and my body physically gave up. I was officially diagnosed shortly after with exhaustion and fibromyalgia – a version of M.E.

Since then I have had to learn to ‘cope’ with this disease of a thousand names. It mimics so many other illnesses that it is very difficult to diagnose. It’s almost as a last ditch attempt to find out what’s happening that it gets noticed.

I am not the sort of person who finds it easy to sit and chill, do nothing at all, even when I’m physically immobile. I did have a problem for many years not being able to knit or sew, because of the arthritis, but I can now do these things again. J

Luckily I had learnt a lot of ‘coping techniques’ over the years because of the problems I had with my spine. It was really hard for me to get used to being so immobilised again. I decided to continue my Reiki training and found a course in Cornwall where I could learn it as part of an adult education program, making it affordable for me. I really enjoyed it. I practiced it as often as I could and my pain became easier to cope with. I went on to train as a Reiki Master/ Teacher and haven’t looked back. I give myself daily blasts of Reiki, along with using the Ray energies and I no longer have so much arthritis. Hopefully, one day I can say 'I have no arthritis'.

I have learnt to ‘pace’ myself. When I want to do something that requires more energy than usual I allow a couple of days ‘me time’ to recover and regain my energy afterwards. For me it has been, to a great extent, about learning to balance my life between doing and not doing. I still find it difficult to sit and do nothing, so my laptop has become my constant companion. Before this I had a journal, or many journals, which I used to express how I felt daily. This helped me to see patterns emerging and to take responsibility for my own healing. The M.E. or Fibromyalgia hasn’t gone yet, but I believe I have made such great progress over the last 4 years that it won’t be long before it does.

I also learnt to take notice of what I ate that affected me. The more fresh fruit and veg I eat the better I feel. I also make fresh juice each morning. I have certain times of the day when my energy lapses quite badly. I arrange my days around those times so that I can pace myself accordingly.

Since I have been bringing through and working with the Magenta R.O.E.S. system in general, I have become a different person. I have learnt that first and foremost I am my most important task each day. My needs are the first thing I take care of so that I am able to use my time productively. It is so important for people with M.E., C.F.S. or Fibromyalgia to stop feeling guilty about spending quality time on themselves. You must put yourself first. By doing this you give yourself and everyone else more quality time with you.

I believe that one of the main causes of M.E. is a blockage from receiving Earth energy. By tuning in to your higher self I am able to see where these blockages are and help you to release them. Once the Earth energy or ‘Earth Ki’ is flowing freely again you are then able to live to your highest potential. It’s definitely been about balancing the Earth energy with Spiritual energy for me…. If you feel that this might resonate with you then contact me and we can work out a healing program for you. This might include Magenta R.O.E.S. Reiki (thoroughly recommended), releasing old energy patterns related to past experiences, and releasing on a physical level in whichever way your inner guide advises. I will pass on the information I receive for you and we can work together to bring your energy back into balance, enabling you to live your life to your highest potential. Consultations will be available from October 2008.

My advice to anyone with this illness is:

If you would like to book a healing session, or a one to one consultation, (in person or remotely), these will be available from October 2008. Please email me or call me: 00 44 (0) 7525621139 to book a session. 30 minutes for £25 or 60 minutes for £40. Concessions are available, please ask

For information on how to become attuned to Magenta R.O.E.S. Reiki, from October onwards, please click here.

For information on working with the Rays please click here to go to the workshops page.

If you would just like to chat about your symptoms and how you have found relief please email me.